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At the Microsoft press event at Gamescom 2009, Peter Molyneux – Creative Director for Lionhead Studios and Microsoft’s Project Natal – revealed the existence of Fable III, fleshed out a few of the upcoming game’s mechanics, and even went so far as to give it a release window. Set for exclusive release on Xbox 360 during the 2010 holiday season, Fable III will have players take on the role of their Fable II hero’s child. During the first half of the game, players will have to set about questing around the continent of Albion in an attempt to gain popular support for their claim to the throne. After diligently campaigning and knocking skulls (boots?), players will eventually rise to the head of power. Acting as either a tyrant or a monarch, players will have to deal with foreign powers as well as the everyday intrigue found throughout their kingdom. A couple of game mechanics have been revealed that will have players sitting in judgment of their people as well as interacting with their world in unique ways. For starters, Judgment has you taking on the role of supreme arbiter – you are the judge and jury of all disputes. This will allow for ample opportunities to be just, callous, corrupt, or downright evil. The way you’re perceived by your subjects will be crucial to the way in which the story unfolds. The second mechanic, Touch, is perhaps the most interesting. Rather than using expression wheels to act as emotes, players will take advantage of a Touch system that will be far more organic in implementation. Though this was only scantily detailed, players will be able to interact with people in more subtle ways that eventually lead to complex behaviors. Though not confirmed outright, it is assumed, due to Molyneux’s involvement with Natal, that the Touch control will actually be initiated by Natal technology. One can easily see how calming rowdy citizens with a commanding grasp on a ringleader’s shoulder, or settling down a noisy baby with a gentle, caring touch could completely change the Fable universe and the gaming landscape as a whole. Time will tell what truly comes to fruition – it may all be hot air. For more info, check out the presser below. Also, head over to our video section by clicking HERE for a glimpse at the debut trailer.
Press Release: August 19, 2009 – Alexander the Great. Genghis Khan. Queen Elizabeth I. Che Guevara. Throughout history, revolutionary leaders have taken very different paths to power, bringing about prosperity and poverty, peace and sometimes anarchy to their people. Now Microsoft and Lionhead Studios will explore the journey to rule, with you in pursuit of a kingdom, in Fable III, the exciting new game in the critically acclaimed Fable franchise. The title’s debut was confirmed today at gamescom in Germany by Peter Molyneux, Lionhead’s creative director, and will be available exclusively on Xbox® 360 in the 2010 holiday season. Since its inception, the blockbuster Fable franchise has offered the opportunity to choose your own destinies as a hero, villain, or someone between, where the possibilities are limitless and the consequences can weigh heavily on the path to greatness. Monarch or Tyrant? In this new adventure, you will witness tyranny, poverty, and injustice plague your land. You will see a people divided, and you will be compelled to stand up for change. You will also be forced to answer a question: What would you sacrifice to secure the crown of Albion? Will you uphold the values and principles that led to your ascension, or will you be corrupted by the station you’ve strived to acquire? Will you be a monarch of the people, or bring the entirety of Albion to the brink of collapse? “We’ve spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the gameplay and progress the world of the Fable games for its third chapter, and we’re confident that players won’t second-guess what we have planned for Fable III,” said Molyneux, who also serves as creative director of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for Microsoft Game Studios. “Though I can’t give too much away right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far wider consequences than ever before in Albion—and with many more interactive adventure elements.” In the epic story of Fable III, the journey to rule the throne of Albion begins five decades after the events of the last chapter, and you play as the child of your hero from Fable® II. As you rule your kingdom as king or queen, you will be called upon to make choices and sacrifices that will test your morality and can affect your entire kingdom. Themes of heroism, leadership, and consequence are taken to a grand scale as you fight to unite a divided people. |
